- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Katherine "Katie" Hostetler was named the Outstanding Senior in Entomology; Morgan Myhre, Citation for Outstanding Performance in Entomology: and Kenny Ruiz, Outstanding Senior Award and Departmental Citation in Animal Biology.
Katie Hostetler, Outstanding Senior in Entomology
A member of the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), Katie, working in a Center for Watershed Sciences lab, selected as her research project: amphipod shredding behavior impacting algal growth in aquatic systems.
Professor Sharon Lawler, an aquatic entomologist who retired in January from the Department of Entomology and Nematology, nominated her for the award. Lawler worked with her through RSPIB, which aims to provide undergraduates with closely mentored research in biology. "She participated in graduate student Kyle Phillip's project on how wetland plant decomposition supports aquatic food webs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Suisun Marsh)," Lawler related. "Katie rapidly became an essential member of the research team, which included John Durand as a principal investigator and Kyle's co-advisor."
"Katie learned numerous techniques in aquatic ecology," said Lawler. "She ultimately designed and led her own laboratory experiment on how amphipods contribute to nutrient recycling in wetlands through shredding and consuming different kinds of detritus. She is working on a draft manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal stemming from her work. "
Durand, a UC Davis estuarine and wetland ecologist, and a faculty member of the Center for Watershed Sciences, related that "Katie has been an outstanding scholar in my research group. She quickly mastered the basic skills needed to support our research, and then collaborated closely with Kyle in his research, eventually designing and executing her own study, which is publishable research. She has maintained an active presence in the lab, and has been consistently available to support other researchers in the lab with zooplankton and invertebrate analysis, and water quality analysis. She is currently working with me and others to develop a flow-through automated zooplankton analysis system using digital photography, a flow cytometer, and machine learning. All in all, Katie is exactly the kind of student we want to honor and encourage as an outstanding senior."
Katie, born in La Jolla and raised in Encinitas, Calif., is a 2019 graduate of San Dieguito High School Academy. She remembers nurturing an early interest in entomology. "I enjoyed gardening with my mom and picking up snails, isopods, and other creatures while playing in the dirt. I also volunteered at the local botanical garden in high school, which confirmed my interest as I got to hang out with insects while gardening!"
She plans to remain in Davis "and continue working at the Center for Watershed Sciences in invertebrate research!"
Co-nominators were Ian Grettenberger, UC Cooperative Extension entomology specialist and assistant professor Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate professor Christian Nansen, who specializes in applied insect ecology, integrated pest management and remote sensing.
"Morgan is an exemplary student research assistant and has been integral to us accomplishing our research goals," Grettenberger said, adding "She has often gone above and beyond the expectations of the position, even going out of her way to keep data and equipment organized. She is the type of research assistant that thinks ahead to do tasks even better than whatever instructions she was given. She thinks critically and operates very independently. She is also an excellent student and her work in our lab and 'job' as a student is all on top of being a parent as well."
Morgan was a student in Nansen's ENT110 course last fall. "She has been an active member of my informal scientific writing club," Nansen said. Under his mentorship, she is working on writing a journal review article. "She has a lot on her plate and seems to handle everything in very fine style."
Morgan, born and raised in San Diego, said her educational journey followed a nontraditional path. WIth very limited high school experience due to a severe illness, she began attending Palomar Community College at 16 years old. While in community college, she worked at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and had her two children, Galileo and Esmerelda.
Morgan traces her love of insects to her early childhood. In elementary school, she frequently brought ladybugs into the classroom in her pockets and established a worm club with her friends. Knowing she wanted to become a science teacher, she decided to major in the science subject that most interested her—entomology. While at UC Davis, she discovered a love for agriculture and integrated pest management.
Morgan currently works as a math and science tutor at Pioneer High School and as an undergraduate research assistant in the Grettenberger lab at UC Davis. She plans to obtain her science teaching credentials and master's degree in education and to "continue exploring my love for entomology by introducing my future students to the subject."
Forensic entomologist Robert "Bob" Kimsey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, who advises the Animal Biology program, described Kenny as "the soul of intelligent self-sufficiency."
"He does not present unsolved problems to others, he invariably presents solutions," Kimsey said. "When he listens he actually hears you, not what he wants to hear. Sufficient unto himself he is also the best possible team member, and is among the hardest working persons I have ever met- he will get the job done! I wish him all possible success in graduate school!"
Kenny, a first-generation transfer student, grew up in Salinas and upon graduating from high school, joined the Marines, serving four years. He received an associate of arts degree in biology from Gavilan College, Gilroy, Santa Clara County, in 2020.
What sparked his interest in his field? "It was while I was doing Muay Thai in Thailand that I found a brochure for an elephant sanctuary that advertised no riding and 'cruelty free.' I didn't know about elephant riding and how cruel and abusive it is to the elephants."
Kenny plans to pursue a career in animal behavior research and conservation. He is applying to the animal behavior master's program at the University of Sussex in England.
Other entomology and animal biology majors who received awards at the Class of 2023 commencements:
Departmental citations: Tranh Than and Stephen Jee
Animal Biology:
Departmental Citations: Yuanyang Liu, Maria Peshkoff, Genevieve Marie Shane, and Ashley Uyehara
Outstanding Performance Citations: Myles Bailey, William Claflin, Sterling Ickes, Sarah Kim, Emma Elizabeth Lauth, Xintong Li, Sarah Kaori Nelson, Karen Vazquez, Sonyia Ying-Rou Williams, Alex Biyang Zhao, Lindsey Anne Campbell
The commencements are online.
